Operators and Empty Categories in Japanese
, Y. Ishii 1991
Abstract
This thesis discusses empty operator movement in Japanese, with special reference to relativization and comparative deletion. Major problems discussed in this thesis are outlined in Chapter 1.
Since Kuno (1973), it has been known that Japanese relativization, unlike English relativization, does not exhibit Subjacency effects. Chapter 2 aruges that this difference between Japanese and English is only apparent: the gap in Subjacency violations in Japanese relative clauses is an empty resumptive pronoun: a last-resort employed when movement is prohibited. On the basis of reconstruction effects, weak crossover effects, and a restriction on the relative head, I argue that Japanese restrictive relative clauses involve movement whenever possible. It is proposed, however, that non-restrictive relative clauses in Japanese are shown to employ the resumptive pronoun strategy alone.
Chapter 3 discusses comparative deletion in Japanese, which, unlike relativization, exhibits clear Subjacency effects (kikuchi 1989) as does English comparative deletion. However, Japanese comparative deletion has a number of important properties that are not shared by English comparative deletion. It is argued that these language-particular properties of the empty operator in comparative deletion follow from more salient properties of adjectives and quantifiers in these languages.
Based on important similarities between comparative deletion and numeral quantifier floating in Japanese, it is argued that Japanese comparative deletion involves movement of a floating quantifier. The lack of special morphology for comparatives in Japanese is also shown to play an important role in restricting comparative deletion with adjectives in Japanese. The present analysis has some consequences for English comparatives as well. Subdeletion in English is argued to be a special case of comparative deletion in which the comparative operator is an adverbial unselectively binding the determiner position of noun phrases.
Chapter 4 discusses the half-relative construction, a unique construction in Japanese which on the surface appears to be a case of relativization, but actually is a special case of comparative deletion. A number of similarities between comparative deletion and half- relatives are discussed. The lack of such a construction in English is shown to follow from the present analysis of comparative deletion of English and Japanese.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 1
Endnotes to Chapter one 6
ON THE NATURE OF GAPS IN RELATIVE CLAUSES 7
2.1. Introduction 7
2.1.1. Subjacency and Japanese 7
2.1.2. Saito (1985) on PP Topicalization 10
2.1.3. PP Relativization: Oka (1988) and Murasugi (1991) 12
2.1.4. The Organization of This Chapter 22
2.2. Reconstruction Effects in Relative Clauses 23
2.1.1. Hoji (1985) 24
2.1.2. Kare-zisin and Reconstruction 29
2.1.3. Reconstruction Effects and Binding of Zibun 33
2.3. Weak Crossover Effects in Relative Clauses 39
2.4. Relative Clauses with a Quantificational Head 43
2.4.1. Chao and Sells (1983) 44
2.4.2. Oka (1988) 45
2.5. Non-Restrictive Relative Clauses in Japanese 47
2.6. Resumptive Pronouns as a Last Resort 61
2.6.1. Resumptive Pronouns and Scrambling 63
2.6.2. Topicalization and Left Dislocation 67
2.7. Two Types of Apparent Subjacency Violations in Japanese 74
2.8. Summary 81
Endnotes to Chapter Two 84
COMPARATIVE DELETION IN JAPANESE 91
3.1. Introduction 91
3.2. Kikuchi (1989) on Comparative Deletion in Japanese 94
3.3. Differences between English and Japanese Comparative Deletion 103
3.4. Quantifier Float and Comparative Deletion 108
3.4.1. An Analysis: Comparative Deletion and Indefinites 108
3.4.2. A Possible Alternative An ECP Account 117
3.5. Comparative Deletion with Adjectives 124
3.5.1. An Analysis: The Categorial Status of Comparative Adjectives 124
3.5.2. Residual Cases 134
3.6. Subdeletion in Japanese and English 140
3.6.1. Subdeletion in Japanese 140
3.6.2. Subdeletion in English 143
3.6.3. Further Arguments for the Abstract Adverb Analysis of Subdeletion 146
3.6.4. Non-Quantificational More, Motto and Unselective Binding 158
3.7. Implications of the Floating Quantifier Analysis of Comparative Deletion 171
3.7.1. Argument/Adjunct Asymmetry in Comparative Deletion 171
3.7.2. Floating Quantifiers and Secondary Predicates 173
3.7.3. Parastic Gaps in Comparative Deletion 188
3.7.4. Weak Crossover and Comparative Deletion 196
3.8. Empty Indefinites in Japanese and French En 200
3.9. Summary 207
Endnotes to Chapter Three 208
HALF-RELATIVES 221
4.1. Introduction 221
4.2. Movement Characteristics of Half-Relatives 224
4.3. Quantifier Float and Half-Relatives 227
4.4. Empty Indefinites in Half-Relatives 235
4.5. Argument/Adjunct Asymmetry 237
4.6. Parastic Gaps 240
4.7. On the Non-Existence of Half-Relatives in English 243
4.8. Concluding Remarks 244
Endnotes to Chapter Four 250
BIBLIOGRAPHY 254